Delaware’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) announced the recognition of the Marvin S. Gilman Superstars in Business Awards will be held October 29 from 10:15 to 12:15 PM at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. The award honors businesses and nonprofits for their outstanding achievements and model approaches to business and management. Established in 1998, the awards are given annually to extraordinary businesses in honor of Marvin S. Gilman, who was a distinguished small business leader in Delaware.
Chris Schell is the founder of Schell Brothers, one of the nation’s largest private homebuilders, will be the keynote speaker at the event.  A graduate of MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Schell began his career in finance, where he developed automated futures trading software before leaving the industry to pursue a new vision in homebuilding. He founded Schell Brothers with a mission of prioritizing happiness above all else, growing the company from Delaware into Virginia, Tennessee, and Idaho. He has served on the University of Delaware Board of Trustees, the Economic Advisory Council for the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, and currently serves on the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors.
This year the event will recognize awardees that include the Food Bank of Delaware in the non-profit category; Synergy Consultants and Psychotherapy in the 1-10 employee category; First Ascent in the 11 to 40 employee category and GGA Construction in the 41 to 150 employee category.
The 2026 Award of Excellence recipients include Sunday Breakfast Mission in the non-profit category; Integrity Nursing in the 1 to 10 employee category; Delmarva Central Railroad in the 11 to 40 employee category and AKA Advisory in the 41-150 employee category.
The event begins at 11:15 AM with registration and networking followed by lunch at noon. The keynote speaker will begin at 12:30 PM with awards presented at 1 PM. The luncheon will adjourn at 1:45 PM.
 Contact Kiley Michulka for more information and sponsorship opportunities.
